Lifespan Religious Education

Roots hold me close...
Wings set me free...

These words are taken from the song, "Spirit of Life", written by Unitarian Universalist musician and activist Carolyn McDade. As we welcome you to this year's Lifespan Religious Education Program, we hope these words will come to mean something special to you too. It is our hope this year to explore the roots of our faith that ground us in tradition while empowering our spirits with the wings to fly forth and change the world for the better.

Welcome to our Lifespan Religious Education Program

The Mission Covenant of our church states that "we provide a haven for nourishing the spirit and mind, while we strive to build a just and sustainable world." "Nourishing the spirit and mind" takes many forms in our community. We find nourishment in the worship services we attend. We are sustained by the relationships we build through programs such as our Small Group Ministry program. We grow in commitment and community when we work together on social service projects. And, of course, our Lifespan Religious Education Program exists specifically to nurture our spirits, our bodies, and our minds. For some, the words "Religious Education" may have a sterile and austere ring to them, evoking images of indoctrination sessions where dogma is drilled into one's head until we learn the "one true way" of the church. This image could not be farther from the reality of our program of faith development here at UUCDC.

The goal of our LRE program is to create the environment where events to nurture our spirits, our bodies, and our minds may occur. While many of our children experience religious education in a classroom setting using time-tested curricula, we also provide our youngest members with hands-on learning experiences. Our older children learn about other religious traditions through the "Neighboring Faiths" program, and our youth move through an intentional "coming of age" process that helps them address issues of transition from childhood to young adulthood. Our high school youth participate in a YRUU Youth Group that supports them as they confront the complexities of their later teen years, helping to reinforce the values they've developed in younger years. We also offer age-appropriate sexuality education from kindergarten through adults with the "Our Whole Lives" program.

We take a holistic approach to spiritual development for our adults as well, engaging the body, mind and spirit through programs as diverse as Tai Chi and martial arts, to bible study, to courses on sustaining committed relationships. Our Adult Lifespan Religious Education offerings provide a safe environment where we can intentionally explore the deeper meanings of our lives and discover the shape and direction we want to move toward as spiritually aware individuals, all the while encountering the unknown with a sense of curiosity and joy.

Peace, Peter
Rev. Peter Friedrichs, Minister, UUCDC

"Roots & Wings" - Lifespan Religious Education at UUCDC

Broadly, the Lifespan Religious Education Program at UUCDC is divided into three programs: Adult LRE, Youth LRE (grades 9-12), Our Whole Lives (grade 8) and Sunday School (pre-K to grade 7). Each program is administered by a team of advisors, leaders and teachers. The advisors, leaders and teachers are parents, non-parents, church members, and friends. All members, guests, and visitors to UUCDC are encouraged to be involved in the LRE program as students, participants, teachers and facilitators.

The UUCDC Lifespan Religious Education Council (LREC) is a group of UUCDC members dedicated to ensuring the delivery of a high-quality LRE program. The LREC sets the goals and objectives of the LRE program and oversees the many individual levels to en-sure continuity and completeness of the religious education provided. The LREC consists of the Director of Lifespan Religious Education, representatives from each program team, and several at-large members. The LREC meets the first Monday of every month at 7:30 PM - you are welcome to attend to learn more about the program or provide feedback.

The success of the UUCDC LRE program depends on a reliable group of enthusiastic volunteers who deliver the curricula, forums, and LRE programs - last year this amounted to over seventy volunteers helping to run the LRE program! The Lifespan Religious Education Council would like to thank in advance all of the volunteers throughout the LRE program - we are sure it will be a great year for religious education.

Religious education at UUCDC is everyone's business. It takes a lot of people to make sure that our program runs smoothly. Whether you are a parent or guardian of a child or youth in the program or not, please take a moment to fill out the LRE Registration Form. Select an opportunity to participate in our Cooperative and put it in the DLRE mail box in the administration office.

Notes from our Director of Lifespan Religious Education

Strengthening Unitarian Universalist identity, engaging in social action, and studying the world’s religions will be the focus of our 2012-2013 Lifespan Religious Education Program. As part of UU curricula, children and youth will learn through stories, songs, and activities. In each class children will engage in open-minded conversations with the goal of learning to respect and to accept each other’s opinions when they differ from their own.

In our Sunday School Chapel, we will learn about our Unitarian Universalist Principles, dive into a variety of spiritual practices, and examine the minister’s monthly themes through multicultural stories. Children and youth participate in large social action projects such as raising money for charitable causes, an annual Easter canned goods hunt to benefit Media’s food pantry, making holiday cards for our troops, and decorating for assisted living members of the congregation. Chapel is 20-25 minutes long and sows a seed or two in our children's minds and hearts.  Parents are welcome to join their children in chapel and leave for the sanctuary during class time.

Our Adult Faith Development program is full of life this year. Join your fellow UUs in a spiritual practice or an in-depth discussion in courses such as:  UU 101, Yoga, and World Religions movie series. It is hoped that all adults may deepen their spirits with life-long learning opportunities through Adult Faith Development courses. Learn more about our current adult course offerings.

Our Lifespan Religious Education program is a “cooperative” that requires the work of volunteers to sustain it.  We have many available opportunities for those seeking spiritual and personal growth - through participation and as a volunteer teacher, facilitator, or assistant. I look forward to working with you this year. My door is always open.

Irene
Irene Friedrichs, Director of Lifespan Religious Education
email or call (610)566-4852, x5

Lifespan Religious Education Council

The mission of the UUCDC Lifespan Religious Education Council (LREC) is to inspire and challenge children and adults to explore the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources of our Living Faith as they travel on their spiritual journey.

Want to Get Involved?

Have a gift to share whether or not you have children in LRE? Explore the options in the Spiritual Growth and Enrichment and Lifespan Religious Education sections of our web site.  Questions?  Please contact or call Irene Friedrichs (610)566-4853 x5.